


Sneak Thief

by msgeniuspa



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, I'm smitten with Brynjolf and so are all of my dragonborns, petty larceny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-23
Updated: 2016-03-22
Packaged: 2018-05-28 12:25:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6329059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msgeniuspa/pseuds/msgeniuspa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shamura the Khajiit finds a bit of unexpected excitement in Riften to which she just can't say no.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sneak Thief

**Author's Note:**

> Spent the past few days moving. Didn't think about much else during the manual labor than my current Dragonborn meeting my Nord husbando.

Despite the midday sun, a cool mist hung over Riften as Imperial troops entered, the 'conquering heroes'.  Though there was a small encampment a ways away in the Rift, and troops now controlling Fort Greenwall, it had been deemed necessary for a few officers to accompany the new town guards until new orders came in, help to ease the transition after the Stormcloaks had been driven out.  Inside the city walls, Shamura removed her helmet, freeing her rounded ears so she could scratch behind them with a clawed hand.  The Khajiit's thick fur was soft and white with mottled light grey spots the same color as her eyes and a black patch over her left eye and ear like a mask.  She hadn't told anyone, but she greatly preferred Skyrim's northern climate to her home.  Her long fur had always been a bit much for the south, but here, it was perfect.

The officers were staying in the Bee and Barb tavern, but it was right near the town's north gate, and Shamura wanted to see more of the town.  The market square was just a little further, the vendors hawking their wares.  Shamura thought she saw a Dunmer in the group, but as she approached, a man hailed her.

"Never done an honest day's work in your life for all that coin you're carrying.  Eh, lass?"  He was tall and broad with long red hair and green eyes that glinted as they looked her over.  He crossed his arms over his fine clothes, and a handsome smile lit up his rough and scarred face.

Shamura was taken aback by the look in his eye.  Her fluffed tail lashed and the fur on the back of her neck bristled, but she smiled toothily.  "Khajiit is sorry, what?"

He leaned back against a barrel.  "I'm saying you've got the coin, but you didn't earn a septim of it honestly.  I can tell."  He voice was smooth and low

One of her ears flicked.  "This one could not possibly know that."

He laughed and again with that smile.  "It's all about sizing up your mark, lass.  The way they walk, what they're wearing.  It's a dead giveaway."

"Khajiit's wealth is none of the Nord's business," she sniffed.

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong, lass.  Wealth is my business."  His voice lowered, "Maybe you'd like a taste?"

It was like a shock had run up her spine, the way his voice rumbled.  She knew it would be ridiculous to think a Nord would flirt with a Khajiit, surely he was only saying whatever he thought it would take to get her to do whatever it was he was about to ask.  But that didn't mean she couldn't fantasize a bit about how his facial hair might feel, raking through the shorter fur that covered her stomach as he kissed down her body....

Her voice was level as she asked, "What does this one have in mind?"

"Please, call me Brynjolf.  I've got a bit of an errand to perform, but I need an extra pair of hands.  And in my line of work, extra hands are well-paid."

"What must... Shamura do?"

He smiled smugly.  "Simple...  I'm going to cause a distraction, and you're going to steal Madesi's silver ring from a strongbox under his stand."  His eyes flicked almost imperceptibly towards the Argonian on the far side of the market.  "Once you have it, I want you to place it in Brand-Shei's pocket without him noticing."

It seemed Brand-Shei was the Dunmer.  With an Argonian name, wasn't that strange?  "Why plant the ring on Brand-Shei?"

"There's someone that wants to see him put out of business permanently.  That's all you need to know.  Now, you tell me when you're ready, and we'll get started."

Shamura glanced again at Brand-Shei.  She enjoyed causing a little havoc as much as the next woman, but of all the people in the town....  "Why are we doing this to Brand-Shei?"

Brynjolf cocked a brow quizzically, but answered.  "We've been contracted to make sure Brand-Shei remembers not to meddle in affairs that aren't his own.  Now, since we're not the Dark Brotherhood, we're not going to kill him, we're just going to make sure he sits in the prisons for a few days.  Okay, lass.  Ready to make some coin?"

"Khajiit understands contracts, yes?  Let us begin."

"Good," he nodded.  "Wait until I start the distraction and then show me what you're made of."

Another rush.  She'd never been so attracted to any man, Khajiit or other, in her life.  But she stood back as Brynjolf moved to his booth in the square, calling out to the town to gather.  "Everyone!  Everyone!  Gather 'round!  I have something amazing to show you that demands your attention!  This way everyone!  Over here!"

Silent as the grave, Shamura skirted the crowd and slipped behind Madesi's stall.  She could see the strongbox behind a trellised sliding door.  Locked, naturally, but she already had a lockpick at the ready for just this reason.

"Gather 'round all!  No pushing, no shoving!  Plenty of room!"  Brynjolf's raised voice covered the soft sound of the door sliding open, and Shamura quickly set to work picking the strongbox.

"Come on, Brynjolf.... What is it this time?"  From the tone of Brand-Shei's voice, it seemed he wasn't pleased Brynjolf was currently monopolizing all of the market's attention.

"Patience, Brand-Shei."  She could practically hear the smile on Brynjolf's face.  "This is a rare opportunity, and I wouldn't want you to get left out."

Shamura didn't know if she had imagined the touch of sarcasm in Brynjolf's voice, but she had to bite back a small laugh.

Madesi's voice covered the strongbox opening.  "That's what you said about the Wisp Essence, and it turned out to be crushed nirnroot mixed with water!"

There was only one silver ring in the box.  Shamura snatched it quickly and set everything right again. Now to get over to Brand-Shei without being noticed.

"Well, that was a simple misunderstanding, but this item is the real thing.  Lads and lasses, I give you Falmerblood Elixir!"

Eyes turned to the Dunmer as he scoffed.  "Oh, come on, are you talking about Snow Elves?"

Brynjolf was in full sales mode at this point.  "Mystical beings who lived in legends and were masters of great magic.  Imagine the power that coursed through their veins!"

Madesi again.  "How did you get that, then?  No one's seen them in years!"

Shamura wondered if the other merchants always heckled Brynjolf, but given the apparent nature of his 'products', it seemed fair.  There was a brief moment when none of the Imperial guards were looking towards the market, and Shamura made a quick tumble out from behind Madesi's stall, rolling lithely to behind Brand-Shei's stall.

Brynjolf tutted.  "My sources must remain a secret, for their own protection, but I can promise that the contents are genuine.  One sip of the elixir and your wishes will be granted.  Great wealth, everlasting life, or, perhaps, limitless power could be yours!"

He did have a compelling voice.  Shamura could hear how he could sell nothing for whatever price he claimed.  After all, here was a Praefect of the Imperial Legion stealing a ring and framing another right under the noses of her own Legionnaires.  Because she was asked the right way.

Brand-Shei had sat on the far side of the crates around his stall, and through a gap between two was the perfect line to slip the ring into his pocket.  "How much does it cost?"

"Only twenty gold septims!  Hurry, before my supply is gone."

"Twenty coins?" Madesi balked.  Others murmured, and Shamura took advantage of Brand-Shei shifting in his seat to place the ring.  "No one has that much."

" _Only_ twenty septims a bottle," Brynjolf corrected.  Shamura quickly rolled back and then stood smoothly, checking that no one had seen before catching Brynjolf's eye and nodding.  "Well, I see that my time is up.  This was only a preview.  Come back tomorrow if you wish to buy."

As the crowd dispersed, Shamura made her way back to the Nord.  "Looks like I chose the right person for the job," he smiled.  "And here you go... your payment, just as I promised."

He held his hand out as if to shake, and Shamura could see the pouch of coins tucked into his sleeve.  He palmed it to her as their hands clasped, and Shamura worked to push down a rush of disappointment.  The ploy had been fun, and what a rush from pulling it off, but now he would be done with her, moving on to the next unknown for the next job.  It made sense, a random messing up and getting caught would be more difficult to trace to him than a known acquaintance, but as she grasped his warm hand, felt the work-worn strength....  Well, it had been a fun fantasy while it had lasted.

But he kept talking as he pulled his hand back.  His smile fell and he looked out across the market as he admitted, "The way things have been going around here, it's a relief that our plan went off without a hitch."

Shamura cocked her head.  "What has happened?"

He scowled and scuffed the ground.  "Bah, my organization's been having a run of bad luck, but I suppose that's just how it goes."  He was silent for a beat, lost in his own thoughts, but then he was back, his green eyes bright again as he looked back to her.  "But never mind that, you did the job and you did it well.  Best of all, there's more where that came from...."  He tipped his head towards her and winked.  "If you think you can handle it."

Her ears swiveled forward in surprise.  She hadn't expected the endeavor to end in recruitment.  "Shamura is an auxiliary with the Legion, only here for a few days."

That seemed to surprise him.  "Truly?  You may be the first Imperial Khajiit these eyes have ever seen.  But my organization has a presence throughout Skyrim.  Take some time to get acquainted, and then I'm sure we'll be able to put your travels to use.  What d'ya say, lass?"

She couldn't think of a single good reason to get more involved with a crime lord.  He seemed motivated entirely by gold, but that wasn't an issue for Shamura, she had already made enough adventuring that she could retire.  And not that she was career Legion, but getting found out could come down harder on her as an officer than on a civilian.  But as she thought of the thrill, as she looked into Brynjolf's hopeful eyes....

"Shamura can handle it."

He grinned.  "Alright, then.  Let's put that to the test.  The group I represent has its home in the Ratway beneath Riften... a tavern called the Ragged Flagon.  Get there in one piece, and we'll see if you've really got what it takes."

As he left her, he clapped her on the shoulder and shot her one more smile.  It was just as well that her face was furred, otherwise she knew she'd be sporting an embarrassing blush.  A shiver of nerves sent a ripple down her tail, and she resisted the urge to turn back to look at his retreating form.  She knew he would look just as fair from the back as he did from the front, though.  And it was official, she was completely smitten.  Still, though, she was Khajiit and he was a Nord, it would be an odd pairing.  And just because he had chosen her to help him with this didn't mean that he had any special interest in her.  If this was his general line of work, then of course there would be tests and initiations.  One couldn't just walk in and say, 'I'd like to join you,' like she had done in Solitude with the Legion.

With a long exhale, she finally turned.  A Nord woman in heavy armor was watching the guards escort Brand-Shei away to the jail, shaking her head in disgust.  "The Stormcloak guards were in the Thieves Guild's pocket," she said to the slight man next to her.  "These new Imperials either simply don't  know, or Maven Black-Briar has even more pull with the Imperials than I thought."

Shamura approached her.  "Pardon, this one overheard you mention the Thieves Guild, yes?"

The woman turned to her, a guarded expression on her face.  "That's right.  I don't think I've seen you around before."

Shamura bowed her head slightly.  "I am Shamura, _auxiliary_ Praefect of the Imperial Legion."  Perhaps her foreigner status would help to distance her from this Maven Black-Briar the woman had mentioned.  "Khajiit wishes to investigate rumors of undesirables in the Ratway, but this one does not know the way."

She was right.  The woman opened herself a bit.  "Well met, Shamura.  I am Mjoll, protector of Riften.  Auxiliary, eh?  Well, watch yourself, friend, that you don't get pulled in like all the others."  She gestured to a building near the edge of town.  "The stair near the orphanage lead down to the lower level.  The Ratway is on the left.  I'll say it again, friend.  Watch your back, and be careful you don't become a part of the problem."

Shamura clapped arms with Mjoll in parting.  "This one will do her best, no?  Well met, friend."


End file.
